


no use crying...

by eggbaby



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Banter, Cliche, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Mild Language, maybe this fic is self indulgent but we'll see, typical tropes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-09-25 00:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17110967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eggbaby/pseuds/eggbaby
Summary: "You know, if it weren't for you I might've died.""Yeah, you can thank me and cry about it later."





	1. the fucking iced coffee

**Author's Note:**

> HOLY SHIT I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR A WEEK AND A HALF AND I'M SO GLAD IT'S OVER WITH. there may be some small typos here and there so it wont be perfect but I was getting tired of reading the same thing over and over. ANYWAYS im really proud of myself for finishing this long ass chapter (well. long to me bc it took so UNGODLY LONG TO WRITE) and I hope you guys, the readers, enjoy it too. i made this super light hearted and i plan on adding many cute and cliché moments (this fic is self indulgent to some extent ok this is the 2tae i need in my life).
> 
>  
> 
> ANYWAY thank u for reading or considering reading, im gonna go put baid aids on my fingers from typing so much now. 
> 
>  
> 
> xoxo  
> -teddy // @cowboytaeil on twitter

Taeil let out the breath he had been holding for what seemed like hours when he finally shut his car door and sat down, resting his head on his folded arms against the steering wheel. He closed his eyes, long lashes pointing towards the foorboard. The crickets and cicadas outside seemed to be too loud against the silent night air. Taeil had been working for nearly twelve hours; he thought for a moment that he didn’t even have the energy to drive home, maybe he would just sleep in his car with a window cracked like a puppy. However, he did have an actual puppy to take care of, and decided letting her poop all over his apartment and chew up his mattress for the hundredth time was only going to be a hassle to deal with. He lifted his heavy head up, opening his eyes again, broad shoulders still hunched over the wheel. He looked from his car in the parking lot at the silent intersection in front of him, traffic light blinking yellow and casting an almost eerie glow on the fresh paved street, as he tried to gather the strength to start his car and drive.  
Taeil fished his keys from the back pocket of his shorts, ultimately dropping them on the floorboard. With an exaggerated sigh, he reached down with this right hand to find them, left hand still on the wheel. There was a worryingly loud thump, as he smacked his forehead hard on the wheel and let out a short honk, causing him to jump a little.  
“Jesus Christ,” he winced, holding his tender forehead with his hand. Keeping his head guarded, he reached down again to successfully grab his keys and turn them in the ignition. He was just about to pull out of the parking lot when his car made a beeping noise to alert him that his fuel tank was dangerously close to being empty. Taeil had to rub his face with his hands and take a deep breath to keep from swearing. He made decent tips tonight, but he hated constantly using that for his gas tank - he was the delivery boy for a cafe chain and a Chinese restaurant, and only the cafe would pay him enough to keep his tank full. He decided going to the gas station was a good idea anyway, because he needed a beer or eight after the day he had. 

By some miracle, he survived the drive to the station. The fluorescent lighting was too harsh on his tired eyes as he walked up to the building to pay for his gas and grab alcohol. Taeil filled his backpack with as many beer bottles his wallet would dare, and dragged his feet up to the short line at the register.  
He noticed that the boy in front of him had rather large headphones on, and was bobbing his head to the beat of a seemingly upbeat and fast-tempo song. Taeil made note of how he thought that kid needed a haircut, and that his clothes were pretty baggy for his slender build. His thoughts were rudely interrupted when the kid moved up to the register, speaking way too loudly.  
“HOW MUCH DID YOU SAY IT WAS?” The boy juggled the iced coffees in his hands while struggling to move his headphones away from his ears. The elderly woman at the register shot him a disapproving glance, reaching over the counter and pulling the left side of his headphones away from his head with her small hands.  
“Ten thousand won, boy. You’re going to need a hearing aid when you’re thirty if you keep wearing this headgear. Seriously.”  
The boy apologized and chuckled sheepishly in response. He finally managed to get the iced coffees on the counter and drape the obnoxious headphones around his neck, hands running rampant in his shoulder bag for the bills. He dropped a few coins and cursed lightly under his breath, to which the grandma at the counter smacked her lips at.  
“Sorry, I’m sorry!” He bowed twice, handing the woman the bills with both hands.  
Taeil smirked and shook his head slightly as he watched the exchange. The boy then stepped to the side of the counter to organize his money and coffee, and it was Taeil’s turn.  
“Just these, and fifty-five thousand won on number two.” Taeil set the beer on the counter for her to scan, then handed the woman his credit card. He thanked her as she handed his things back to him, folding the receipt in his oversized hoodie’s pocket and walked out, hoisting his backpack over his shoulder. As he did this, he conveniently bumped into the headphone boy’s arm, causing the iced coffee to fall from his slim hands and collide with the concrete. Coffee exploded into every direction and splashed against the both of their ankles. It was so sudden and fast that they had no time to even think about catching it. They both stood there silent for a second, watching the light brown liquid pool and dribble off the sidewalk.  
“I…” Taeil started to apologize, when the younger boy sunk to his knees, palms to the cool ground.  
“NOOOOOO!” The boy struck the hard ground with his fist, skinny shoulders hunched over. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing; perfectly brewed and sweetened coffee, just wasted. Gone.  
Taeil stooped down to shush him, rapidly looking around and seeing they’d drawn in a small audience. He had never seen someone so upset over coffee - gas station coffee to be precise. “I can buy you another one man, don’t worry about-”  
The boy whipped his head around to meet eyes with Taeil for the first time. His shaggy, ash-blonde hair swished as he did so. He blinked at him as the boy looked at Taeil with big doe eyes, expecting him to accept the offer he had just laid on the table, and then they would go their separate ways. But when did anything that easy happen to him?  
“You are a horrible, terrible person.”  
“Excuse me?” Taeil backed up to rest on his knees, eyebrows lifted in both shock and confusion. His brain seemed to have a hard time processing what he had just said, like he was lucid dreaming.  
“You heard me, man-demon.” The younger boy stood up, brushing himself off and looking down at Taeil, not offering to help him stand back up. Then he glanced at the coffee on the ground, mumbling something about it being a disaster, when Taeil stood up himself. His height didn’t quite matching the other’s, but he was used to being the shortest one in the room. That didn’t mean he was going to let people walk all over him, though.  
“Whatever, kid. I offered to get you another one, but if you want to act like... that, then fine. You should really be nicer to people older than you, too.” Taeil was annoyed. This kid was really a mess. He only looked a couple of years younger than him, but he acted as if he was a teenager.  
When the boy failed to give a response and just stared blankly at him, Taeil rolled his eyes and turned away, marching back towards his car without looking back, coffee-scented Vans tapping along the pavement. He thought about chugging a beer now, but that would be illegal and irresponsible and he would rather keep his license, job, and a clean record. It would just have to wait.  
He tried not to slam his door shut and yank his seatbelt as he prepared to leave. Today just never seemed to end, he thought. Taeil pressed the gas pedal and lurched his car forward, destined to go home and forget about all of today’s events, when he heard the sickening sound of metal scraping against metal, and a loud CLANG from something behind him.  
Taeil spun his head to look out of his diagonal back window, seeing the gas pump laying bent at a ninety-degree angle on the concrete, and his gas cap wide open. He forgot to take the pump out of his car, thanks to the twerp with the iced coffee.  
Taeil shut his eyes and tried to calm the vein that threatened to pop from his forehead while gritting his teeth, strong jawline flexing from the pressure. “God, if you’re listening, please give me the strength and will to not go totally fucking insane. Amen.”

-

Warm, morning sunlight peeked from behind the thin, white linen curtains of Taeil’s bedroom, illuminating the beige walls. Empty beer bottles littered his bedside table and his hardwood floor, a couple bags of honey chips on his desk, and his cell phone charger only poked through his phone case, not actually in the charging port. He lied with his feet at the head of the bed, his head at the foot of the bed, and a (really gross) puddle of drool had accumulated around his cheek. He snored lightly, his gentle face relaxed and lips parted in deep slumber. He passed out without even properly tucking himself into bed, his sheets still remaining neat underneath his body. Bong-cha, his golden labrador puppy, made her way towards Taeil’s bed, ignoring the lump of a man that was snoozing soundly on top of it. She jumped right on top of his back, walking over him as she tried to get comfortable towards his pillows. Taeil stirred from this, lazily opening his eyes to greet Bong-cha good morning. She attacked him with kisses, even lapping his messy hair.  
“Okay, that’s too much.” Taeil smiled and wiped his face with the back of his arm, deciding it was probably time to get up now. He noticed his charger mistake when he went to check the time, and shook his head at himself. Plugging the cord in correctly, the time read twelve forty-two, AM. He didn’t have to work at the Chinese place today until five, when the orders would just be starting at its busiest time of the night. Scratching the back of his head and yawning, he made his way to the bathroom.  
Taeil liked to listen to music while he showered, and preferred his showers to be long and relaxing. Bong-cha liked to take this opportunity to dig through the trash can and chew on anything that seemed good to her at the moment. This time, she picked the empty pizza box that still had cheese stuck to the inside of it. Bong-cha was mischievous, and liked to cause trouble, but never enough for her patient owner to hate her. She was far too cute and lovable for that, and she knew this. She greeted Taeil with a wagging tail as he stepped out from the bathroom, hair still dripping onto his bare, well-built shoulders and chest, towel wrapped around his waist.  
“Bong-cha, drop it! Seriously.” Taeil played tug-of-war with her for the slobbery pizza box until he had won, shoving it back into the trash can and lightly tapping Bong-cha’s nose with his fingers as a punishment.  
This was their daily routine, the two of them. Sometimes Taeil’s mother would come by with food and tell Taeil he was getting too thin or that he needed to drink more milk and that is why he’s no taller than five foot nine. Sometimes she would bring her friend’s daughters to meet him, because he was too handsome to be unmarried and that he apparently was running out of time. Taeil loved her, though, more than anyone in the world.  
Today was one of those days when his mom knocked on the door to his apartment, her long hair kept in her usual neat ponytail. Taeil called out to her to wait just a minute as he scrambled to put on socks, a pair of sweatpants, and a hoodie that may or may not have been clean, but it would work for now.  
He opened the door to greet her, a big smile on his face as he held his arms outstretched to hug her. She squeezed him tight right back. Taeil’s mom was a small and very pretty woman, but she was fierce and strong and sometimes scary. That was her charm, though.  
“Taeil, gosh, did you have a party last night?” She looked from his shoulder to his small kitchen and common area, into his bedroom with the door wide open. Bottles and snacks lay strewn everywhere, along with random crumpled receipts and a pair of underwear on the couch.  
“Sorry mom, I would have tidied up if I knew you were coming-” He tried to explain while scratching the back of his head, but was met with a light smack on his arm.  
“You should always keep your home clean! Jeeze, you brat. Don’t make excuses!” The tiny, brown-haired woman made her way over to the common room that was in front of the doorway, picking up a bag of chips and throwing Taeil’s underwear at his head.  
“You’re right, I know. I was hardly here, and as soon as I got home I just wanted to sleep. I don’t know how I was able to get back without dying yesterday. I even bumped into this rude person and spilled their coffee by accident, and even after I apologized and offered to pay for another one, guess what? They called me a demon.” Taeil explained as he walked over and picked up the bottles on the table.  
“Were they cute?” His mom asked to help lighten his mood.  
Taeil chuckled. “He was definitely not cute.” He thought for a moment though, that he /was/ kind of cute, but his snooty attitude ruined it. He may have even been friends with the boy, had he not been so... weird.  
They talked for a bit more as they cleaned, discussing his family and all the things he had been up to in the past few weeks. His mother didn’t necessarily favor that he was just a delivery boy in Seoul, but Taeil enjoyed it. He had already graduated university, and wanted to just take a break from all of the stress there was surrounding careers and moving on with life. He wasn’t lazy in the slightest; he just wanted things to slow down sometimes. Life seemed to always be in constant motion, never letting him get a chance to breathe. He hated the pressure put on him of the traditional ways of living, and thought it was so mundane and tired. Life shouldn’t be about working until you die. You should enjoy it, and that’s exactly what he was trying to do. Attempts were made every day, but somehow things would usually backfire. Taeil was tired.  
His mother offered to pay to get that window in the kitchen that wouldn’t open fixed, and a new mattress, but Taeil hated accepting money in any form from her. They were never broke, and he always had a meal and a roof over his head, but their family knows all too well the struggle of living paycheck to paycheck. It’s stressful, and that is part of the reason Taeil would rather not buy a house until he was old and grey.  
“You should at least buy sheets that match your pillows. Those are the same sheets you’ve had for years, goodness…” Taeil laughed at the remark. This might have sounded nagging from anyone else’s point of view, but not his. He just knows she cares and wants the best of the best for him, even if it meant buying new sheets.  
“How about I just come move back in with you and dad, and then you can decorate and pay for whatever you want!” Taeil said with a teasing smile, draping his arm around her shoulders.  
His mom chuckled and shook her head, placing a hand to her cheek. “As much as I love you, there is no way in hell you are moving back in unless you’re either dying or bankrupt. Even then I’d have to consider.”  
They laughed, talked and joked back and forth for a while until it was time for Taeil to go to work again. His mother pinched his cheeks as a heartfelt goodbye, Taeil walking her out to her car.  
“I’ll order you some sheets soon.” His mother gave him a pearly smile, that kind of smile that makes you feel at ease and warm. Taeil’s father always mentioned how he got most of his mother’s good looks, and that thought always crossed his mind when he saw his mom smile. They had always been close and they hardly ever bickered over petty things. He was beyond grateful for this.  
“I love you. See you soon.”  
Taeil walked back into his apartment, carefully shutting the door behind him as he tore his maybe-dirty sweatshirt over his head, body exposed to the air again. He was walking to his room to grab properly clean clothes when he glanced at his clock -- he had to be at work in 10 minutes.  
“Shit. Fuck.” Taeil zoomed towards his dresser and grabbed the first things he could find: jeans and a purple hoodie. That seemed to be fine, he didn’t have time to care about his fashion choices anyways. He snatched a baseball cap from the hanger on the back of his door and shoved his feet into his Nike’s without putting his heels into the shoe or tying them, shoelaces threatening to trip him with every flailing step he made. He shoved his cell phone, keys, and bag of honey chips into his drawstring bag, rushing towards his front door. He threw a dog treat at Bong-cha, blowing her a kiss goodbye as he awkwardly exited his flat and flopped down the apartment building’s stairs to his car. He yanked at the driver’s side door, throwing his backpack in the passenger side. He checked the time again as he turned on his car. He had 8 minutes.  
He was sure he got flashed for a speeding ticket, but he didn’t wanna think about the fine for it right now. His top concern was not getting chewed out by his boss, Miss Choi. She was nobody to fuck around with, that’s for sure. She liked him a lot, because he did his job well and without complaints and was popular among female customers, but being late was her worst pet-peeve. Taeil respected the woman, and didn’t want to be on her bad side. He’s seen what had happened to the people who ticked her off, and decided then that he would never, ever do that.  
Pulling in to his work’s parking lot and nearly forgetting to take off his seatbelt as he left the car, he wobbled and tripped over himself because he still hadn’t put on his shoes properly, basically hopping to the employee punch-in sheet. Nearly gasping for breath, he punched in only a single minute late. He let out a sigh and hunched over, putting his hands on his knees and letting the cool AC hit the back of his head and neck.  
Ms. Choi placed a hand on his back, handing him a bottled water. Taeil took it without saying anything, and chugged it until it was half empty. He exhaled hard, wiping the stray water droplets from his chin. Ms. Choi laughed, her eyes crinkling and her smile lines deepening, and walked back to her office, not worried about him. Taeil mouthed a thank you from the glass window of her office, which she met with a thumbs up. Ms. Choi must be in a good mood today, and for that he was grateful. He walked from the back to the kitchen, where his favourite coworker, Sicheng, was in the midst of making his four-hundredth order of chicken fried rice. Sicheng spotted Taeil heading to check the takeout orders on a bar right outside of the kitchen. His light brown hair stuck out from underneath his chef’s hat, white apron spotted with stains from the day. He followed Taeil’s movements with his puppy-like eyes. There was a window with no glass separating them, so they were free to talk.  
“Hey hyung, we don’t have that many orders tonight, so relax. Ms. Choi is happy about it.” Sicheng held a friendly grin. He scooped some of the rice onto a diner plate and passed it over the window counter to Taeil.  
“Ah, thank you. I’m glad, I was a minute late today and I was praying we wouldn’t be slammed.” Taeil plucked a set of wooden chopsticks from next to the register, then made his way back to the kitchen window to eat, breaking the chopsticks apart and digging in. He made a few satisfied noises before commenting on his cooking.  
“It’s spicy this time, I like it!” Taeil said between mouthfuls. He realised then that he hadn’t eaten breakfast and this was his first meal today. Sicheng simply smiled at the compliment, proud glow illuminating from his cheeks. He knew he wasn’t the best cook, but Taeil always liked whatever he made, so as long as Taeil was eating his food then it was good.  
Taeil was about to take another large bite before the bright red phone on the wall by the kitchen rang, to which he sighed at. He set the chopsticks down with sadness and walked over to the wall, taking the phone off the hook and raising the receiver to his mouth (that had grains of rice stuck to it). He answered and had a short conversation with a customer as e wrote down the delivery order for Sicheng, and address for himself. After hanging up, Taeil studied the address.  
“Pyeongchang-dong? Don’t rich people just have people who get their food for them?” Taeil asked this rhetorical question directed at Sicheng, who gave a genuine laugh at his comment.  
“Rich people can afford everything, so they’ll probably tip you more.” Sicheng pointed at his brain with the spoon he was cooking with while raising his eyebrows. This perked Taeil up a bit.  
“You should throw in extra fortune cookies and those mints with chocolate on them like they do in hotels.” Taeil offered this idea, to which Sicheng responded by throwing his head back in laughter. They often joked like this, they were really great friends. Taeil used to have a bit of a crush on him too, but he never really said anything and Sicheng ended up with this insanely smart and handsome guy whom Taeil had only met a couple times. Yuta was a foreign exchange student here in Seoul that always paid for their dinners and peppered Taeil in gifts whenever they met. He was a bit jealous, mostly because if Yuta was generous enough to give Taeil gifts often, then Sicheng must have an entire house by now. But Sicheng was a great person and he deserved to be with someone like Yuta; they took care of each other. Taeil was still awkward when it came to flirting with anyone in general, often just letting his ears turn red and changing the subject when anything of the sort came up. But, he was okay with this and didn't think about it much.  
“Here hyung, the order is ready. I put extra fortune cookies like you said! Go get a big tip!” Sicheng held out the bag with both hands over the counter for Taeil, to which he graciously accepted.  
“See you in a bit.” Taeil walked back out of the store as he carried the paper bag with one hand and he felt around his pockets for his keys with the other. He carefully set the food in the passenger seat, positioning his backpack in front of it just in case it slid. He checked his phone as he pulled up the GPS to the address, and after no notifications other than Animal Crossing having an event going on, he headed off.  
Taeil liked to drive, that’s part of the reason he was good at his job. He wasn’t a big car enthusiast, but he loved seeing the city he’d lived in for all these years. He was lucky enough to live somewhere he didn’t hate. Sometimes he would still discover new places he hadn’t been to before. Taeil used to think Seoul was the biggest city in the world when he was a kid, and he always thought he wanted to be a police officer or a detective. He wondered what his eight year old self would think about being a delivery boy for an off-brand Panera and for a typical Chinese restaurant, but then remembered that he was easily impressed as a child and still would have found it cool. The sun was beginning to set, casting an orange-golden tone on the streets and the sky. The light bounced from Taeil’s eyes, making them seem bright yellow instead of brown. His natural skin tone was enhanced from the glow. He knew he looked good in that moment.  
Finally, he found the neighbourhood he was tracking, but was met with a miniature castle for a guard gate. He scoffed in awe, admiring the intricate design on the building that reminded him of France. There was even a slightly weathered, but well-maintained, water fountain with cherubs pouring water over a woman with long hair. Taeil had a fleeting moment of thought that rich people were too extravagant for no reason, but then thought that if he had the same amount of money that he wouldn’t mind having an ancient Greek sculpture for a causal bird bath.  
He lurched his now seemingly shitty car to the gate and rolled down his window. The guard, a hefty man with thinning hair and a serious face, asked for his name.  
“I’m, uh, delivering food to...127 Ip Street.” Taeil held up the receipt for the guard to examine. He asked Taeil to roll down his back window so he could look inside, then after meeting whatever requirement that there was, he let Taeil through. He passed through many grand houses with spiral staircases on the /outside/ of the home, expensive cars that were squeaky clean, bushes and hedges neatly tucked and trimmed into geometrical shapes... even the grass in between the houses was lush and freshly cut. Flower beds aligned the road with an array of colours; reds, whites, purples and yellows. Taeil felt like he shouldn’t make eye contact with anyone here, and tried to remember all of his manners that he had been taught in his life.  
Eventually, he found the house in the address. It was a white, four-story home with wooden doors, window panes and steps, a neatly paved driveway decorated with pots and exotic plants. There set a miniature pond to the left of the driveway, with a stone birdbath and groomed trees. Each floor had a balcony with white chairs and tables decorating that kept the aesthetic matching. Even the steps leading to the front door had decorative, solar-powered lamps.  
“Jesus.” Taeil huffed under his breath, not believing somebody who lived here actually ordered from their quaint Chinese shop. He pulled himself together and grabbed the food with both hands, walking carefully up the stars as if he thought he would ruin them. To be fair, they probably did cost more to build than his monthly rent.  
The front door was entirely glass, which he found to be a lack of privacy. But then he met eyes with the security camera that was staring down at him, and thought that these people had it covered. Wiping nothing off of his hand onto his jeans, he pressed the doorbell and heard the chime from inside. Even the doorbell sounded expensive, he thought.  
He waited for only a second until he saw a form of someone walk up to the door. Taeil kept his eyes down as he listened to the person unlock the thick bolts on the door and swiftly open it.  
“Hello- oh, what are you doing here?” A familiar voice asked.  
Taeil shot his head up and looked at… the boy who nearly lost his shit over iced coffee and immediately got annoyed at the sight of him. He was wearing fitted dress pants now, and a freshly ironed button up that could’ve fooled Taeil into thinking he wasn’t annoying. His hair was freshly cut and dyed a deep, sultry shade of red now. He smelled his expensive cologne from where he stood, and he mentally kicked himself for thinking it was a nice smell.  
His mind couldn’t process that the kid was THIS rich, he had to live with his parents. He could probably afford his own personal Starbucks, why was he such a brat about three thousand won coffee?  
“Oh. I’m, uh, the delivery boy for Miss Choi’s. You ordered just three servings of fried rice, right?” Taeil looked at the receipt, then at the boy, hoping this interaction wouldn’t last longer than it needed to.  
“Yeah, that’s me. Hey, you owe me for that coffee. Don’t think I haven’t forgotten, mister sir.” The boy took the bag of food in his hands and the receipt, snatching Taeil’s pen out of his chest pocket and signing it quickly, then holding it back out to him.  
Taeil narrowed his eyes at the kid, taking the receipt back and shoving his pen in his back jeans pocket. “There’s extra fortune cookies. Pig out.”  
Taeil turned around to leave, when the boy called out to him.  
“Aren’t you gonna take your tip?”  
Taeil looked back around and saw him holding up two fifty-thousand won bills. Taeil was tempted to take it, because good god he could use it, but instead told him no thanks.  
“Then at least come in and eat with me.”  
Taeil’s eyebrows shot up involuntarily. What did he just say? Was he hearing things right? He was only twenty three, but did he need his ears examined?  
“W...what? No. I’m literally working right now. Not that you would understand. Plus, I wouldn’t eat with you in your house anyways.” Taeil sounded brave, but he felt his ears burning and prayed he wouldn’t point it out.  
“Shame. I guess I’ll just have to order three servings of fried rice every day until you do.” The boy smirked.  
He fucking smirked. That little shit. Taeil pursed his lips in annoyance, unsure of what to do. This kid had called him a demon less than twenty four hours ago, why was he acting like this all of a sudden? He was sure he was messing with him, and Taeil was no fool - he hated being looked down on, especially by snot-nosed kids who probably haven’t had to work a day in their lives.  
“I’m leaving.” Is the short and simple response Taeil ended with, and he really was. He didn’t bother to turn around and deal with him, he had pissed him off enough. He slammed his car door shut and tried to pull out at a normal speed from the kid’s stupid driveway and away from his stupid home in his stupid neighbourhood, but as soon as he was let out the front gate’s castle again, he drove in the fast lane all the way back to the restaurant.  
Pulling back in his usual parking spot, he held his hands on the wheel and stared into space for a minute. Taeil usually is calm and collected, keeping his cool in even the most strenuous situations. He couldn’t believe he let some silver spoon kid bother him. He picked his hat off his head and ran his hand through his dark hair, forcing himself back to reality. He grabbed his things and started to unbuckle his seatbelt, destined to go back to work and forget about what just happened. He noticed the receipt from earlier sticking from his hoodie pocket, and plucked it out. Smoothing out the crumpled corners, Taeil glanced at the signature that wasn’t really a signature at all, just regular print. The ‘kid’ now had a name to match the face: Lee Taeyong.


	2. this is most absolutely NOT stellar and groovy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JESUS CHRISTUS I apologize so much for the delay in this chapter. life has been incredibly hectic for me these past few weeks, and Im talkin Big Stress.
> 
> this chapter is slightly shorter than the last, but I wanted to include more of sicheng and yuta's personalities in this bit. this chapter may be a bit boring since it's not stuck to the original storyline (which will pick back up next chapter heuheuheu), I just /needed/ sssome of this yuwinil in my life.
> 
> i will try to stick to more of a schedule now, i promithe. i need to balance my work and social and relaxing time better, but i can assure you this will NOT be abandoned and forgotten like my past 945195 fics.
> 
> i also spaced out the paragraphs a bit more, i didn't realise it would look so jumbled after publishing so HOPEFULLY IT IS EASIER TO READ.
> 
> anywayZ thank you for reading or considering reading, i lob u.... 
> 
> \- teddy // @cowboytaeil on twitter

Taeil found himself sulking when he went back to the shop, unnecessarily tearing up receipts and sighing at nothing. He would slam dishes and stomp, and nearly have a mental snap if he dropped something. 

He sighed for the eighth time in ten minutes and Sicheng looked at him skeptically, peeking at him through the kitchen window while trying his hardest not to crack a smile. Although Taeil was obviously not a small child, his softer features such as his pout and his cheeks made him look like a cute boy. Sicheng figured he was tired and wanted to go home, so he tried to brighten his spirits with good news.

“I guess now isn’t a good time to tell you a customer called and asked for your number?” Sicheng piped up, raising an eyebrow at him while he cleaned dishes. He wanted to get some sort of reaction from his older counterpart that wasn’t melodrama.

Taeil popped out of his trance as he was sitting in a diner chair that he had grabbed and dragged (loudly) to the kitchen window, his left knee up to his chest as he rested his head on it, and was messing with his shoelace. He was clearly disturbed.

“Who?” Taeil paused fiddling with the laces and only moved his eyes to look at Sicheng, temple staying pressed against his kneecap.

The chef reached into his apron pocket, pulling out a piece of paper he had torn from the corner of a notebook, and slid it over the counter to him. Sicheng was brimming with excitement as he put his hands on his hips in triumph, waiting for Taeil to react. Taeil sat properly, picking the paper up with one hand. Sicheng’s handwriting was messy, but he clearly made out the digits to a phone number and a name. THAT name, that he wished he’d forget. Lee Fucking Taeyong.

He gave the biggest eye roll of the century and scoffed, tossing the paper with one hand over the counter onto the stove. It caught fire instantly. Sicheng yelled out and spun around to grab a dishcloth, quickly using the rag to beat the paper away from the hot surface and put it out effectively. Taeil remained still and stagnant, pessimism basically dripping from his pores. “Lee” was the only word that remained on the singed paper now.

“Taeil… what the fuck?” Sicheng was taken aback.

“Please tell me you didn’t give him my number. Please Sicheng, be my last hope in humanity.” Taeil put his head down and had his hands clasped in prayer above his head as if Sicheng was Jesus.

When Sicheng stayed silent, Taeil lifted his head, hands still in a begging position. The look on his face said it all - he had given his number out. 

Sicheng was about to speak when almost on queue, Taeil’s phone buzzed with a text notification. Taeil’s eyes widened in horror, and placed his hand on the outside of his front right pants pocket that contained his phone. He froze in this position, not even blinking.

“Hyung, I don’t understand what’s-”

“Shh. I am almost positive that he just texted me and I have to make sure that he doesn’t call because I didn’t answer his text. If he calls, I will die.”

“Christ, can you PLEASE explain-”

“Shh!”

“Taeil.”

“SHH.”

“Seriously.”

“SHHHHH.”

“Just check your phone.” Sicheng threw a dish rag at Taeil’s chest in an attempt to make him do something other than sit unnaturally still with his right hand on his pocket and his left pointer finger over his lips.

Taeil took in a deep breath and slowly pulled out his phone as if it was a bomb that would go off at any moment, squinting his eyes to add to the effect. He had almost successfully gotten it to the counter when it buzzed again, causing him to yelp and drop it on the floor.

“Exactly what the hell is your problem?” Sicheng walked around the corner to pick up his phone and examined the notifications as he sat crouched on the floor. He was quiet for a second, so Taeil craned his neck to try to see his phone screen. Sicheng flipped it around to show him the two notifications he received: Animal Crossing and a text from his mom asking what size bed he had.

“Oh. Haha. How silly of me.” Taeil cleared his throat as he plucked the phone from Sicheng’s slender hands with both of his, careful not to meet Sicheng’s piercing gaze. The younger sat in his squatting position with his arms folded over his knees as if they were over his chest, eyebrows raised, waiting for an explanation. Taeil sheepishly met eyes with him and offered a forced smile instead. Sicheng threw his hands up in exasperation and sighed, standing and turning on one heel to walk back to the kitchen. 

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter because I airdropped you his contact information. You need to explain sooner rather than later.” Sicheng talked to him over his shoulder as he continued busywork in the kitchen.

“Good, now I can block his number before he even gets a chance. Look, he’s just a snot nosed rich kid who thinks toying with me is fun. He acts like a baby. I can’t stand immaturity.” Taeil explained the story further in exaggerated detail while pouting. He went as far to tell Sicheng that Taeyong basically assaulted him with his eyes. He finished his rant, holding his head with both his hands.

Sicheng gave him a very disapproving look and said nothing. 

“What?” Taeil pouted more.

Sicheng sighed, expression unwavering. The urge to smack him upside the head was oh so strong. Instead, he swished back around and went back to what he was doing in the kitchen, ignoring him. Sicheng’s silence was better than what he was thinking of saying. Taeil pouted even harder at this, if that was even possible.

-

They had finished out the night with only two other deliveries and then it was time to go home. Taeil reached his apartment quickly, as traffic had already died down. He kicked his shoes off at the door, Bong-cha barking in excitement to see him. He pet her head and continued to sulk over to his room, flopping his body into bed. He pulled out his phone and inspected the contact details Sicheng had sent him, changing the contact name to something more suitable than “Taeyong” before turning his phone on silent and shoving it underneath his pillow. Laying with a leg hanging off the edge of his bed and his head on a fluffy pillow, he tried not to think about it too much. He didn’t have work the next couple days, so he didn’t /have/ to check his phone, right? A part of him was expecting, almost waiting for Taeyong to text him, but he dismissed this as him overthinking as usual. He wasn’t necessarily a pro when it came to flirting and relationships and gross stuff like that. Now that he was alone, he thought clearer and had time to breathe. He mumbled to himself as Bong-cha looked up at him with her head tilted, big brown eyes studying him.

Taeil noticed her and sat himself up, resting his head on his hand, looking back at Bong-cha as if she would start speaking and lay down some tough love. She was just probably wondering why he wasn’t taking her for a walk. As if she told him this with her big brown eyes, he sighed and pulled on socks and a comfortable pair of shoes as he started to walk toward the front door. Bong-cha ran in front of him, skipping and panting as she was readying to leave. Taeil changed his “work hoodie” for his “dog walking hoodie”, which was navy blue with a beagle’s face on the front. He swung open the front door, letting his puppy jog out in front of him. The thing about Bong-cha that Taeil liked the most was that she never needed a leash; she never had to be taught to come back to him when she strayed too far. They padded down the stairs and out of his apartment building, the street lights illuminating the dark walking path with a yellowish tint into the park. She trotted out in front of him, stopping to sniff scents she found interesting on the sidewalk as she went. Taeil aimlessly followed, not really thinking about where he was heading - he had much more important things to think about. His mind raced from Taeyong to his mom and wondering what he needed to buy from the store next, making sure he had his schedule for work memorized and even had a brief moment of reminiscing all his embarrassing high school memories. If it weren’t for Yuta and Sicheng on a nightly stroll, Taeil may have ended up in a different country.

“Taeil hyung!” Yuta exclaimed, startling both Taeil and Bong-cha out of their trances. The tall man came towards him with his arms outstretched, embracing him. He smelled minty. Taeil awkwardly laughed, and felt bad for not noticing them first. Sicheng laughed and greeted him behind Yuta. Bong-cha barked for attention as well, and nobody can resist her.

“You walked over to our part of town, huh? Are you alright Taeil?” Sicheng asked, hands buried in his oversized coat pockets. He looked frail in that huge jacket, but also really warm. Realization struck Taeil like a slap in the face - he had actually been walking for thirty-five minutes instead of five. The burning sensation moved through his calves and thighs, and he suddenly needed to sit down. He chose to ignore the pain and tried to keep his balance steady.

“When am I ever alright?” Taeil chuckled, to which Yuta gave a pearly white, toothy-smile laugh in response. Sicheng shook his head.

“Since you’re so close, come hang with us for a bit. We have beer and we’re about to order pizza.” Sicheng raised his eyebrows to the end of that statement, knowing Taeil wasn’t hard to win over. He sensed Taeil needed to get things off his chest. The older smiled and just had to oblige. 

“YAY TAEIL!” Yuta half-shouted, his eyes closing as he smiled. He wrapped his arms around both Sicheng and Taeil’s shoulders as they walked back to Sicheng and Yuta’s house. Of course, Bong-cha was close behind. Taeil could feel himself relaxing already. 

 

It was nearing two in the morning, and they all had drank more than intended. Yuta was telling Sicheng how much he loved him; that he would marry him one day. Sicheng was too lost in his own drunken mind to process any words that came out of his partner’s mouth and sat with his hoodie pulled tight over his head, hands clasped in his lap, staring off into oblivion. Taeil, on the other hand, was holding onto Bong-cha in a “hug”, though it was more of a chokehold from Bong-cha’s end. Yuta and Sicheng had a small but simple and cute home. The living room that they were currently in was set up like an old arcade. The couches were plush and soft and the various game consoles and even a full-size pinball machine was on one part of the wall. There were interesting lamps that changed color and even a fish tank that had a black light. Yuta had bought a ton of decks of cards, pulling out all of the heart cards and glued and sealed them to the coffee table himself. Naturally, whenever they hung out, it was here.

Taeil was watching the neon fish in the tank while bringing the beer bottle to his lips every few seconds and thinking about, you guessed it, Lee Fucking Taeyong. Bringing it up casually (by screaming), Taeil asked for advice. 

“Why don’t you just… give him a chance?” Yuta slurred his words a bit, but he gave Taeil his total attention by sitting up from laying his head in his boyfriend’s lap, resting his chin in his hand. Taeil figured Sicheng probably filled him in with everything.

“Ha! Give him a… I’d nev...” Taeil was blending his syllables together too, speaking into Bong-Cha’s fur instead of the room for half the poorly-constructed sentence. He threw up a barely-held together fist in the air and swung it down weakly as if he attempted to throw a hit at an imaginary Taeyong.

“This is why you have been single since that girl you dated for a week in the beginning of your freshman year in college - because you cannot stop overthinking things. It is definitely, most certainly, absolutely, positively not bueno for your dating life. Or life in general.” Sicheng shoved a mouthful of popcorn in his mouth with his entire fist at the end of his statement. It rang true, to which Yuta nodded in agreement, letting his blonde bangs hang in his face.

“Yeah. I never think. My life is great.” 

“You really… you know NOTHING about me.” Taeil hiccuped, snuggling his face into Bong-cha’s fur. “At all.”

Yuta eyed Taeil’s phone sitting on the coffee table as the other two went back and forth, now lost in argument about how they were friends “for like, for a really long time bro” and Sicheng couldn’t believe he would say that to him, retaliated by Taeil saying he needed to speak nicer to his elders. Yuta shifted his eyes back up at Taeil to make sure he wasn’t directly looking, and back at the phone, then to Sicheng. With almost sober speed and precision, he swiped the phone from the table and bolted towards the bathroom before anyone could realise what was going on. He had already locked the door behind him as Taeil struggled to stand, trying to lift Bong-cha from his body and finding his balance. Sicheng sighed, decided to stay out of it, and continued to eat fistfuls of popcorn.

“What’s your pass- oh, you don’t have one! Even better!” Yuta called from behind the door.

“You fucker. I swear to… what do you think you’re doing?” Taeil hobbled like a penguin to the bathroom door and leaned his weight against it, trying aimlessly to twist the doorknob to no avail. Yuta’s mischievous yet contagious laughter made it all the more scary for poor Taeil.

“Don’t do that to hyung, babe,” Sicheng called over from the couch, his mouth full of popcorn. He knew his efforts were fruitless, but Taeil would badger him to say something or do something about his boyfriend, so this is all he could muster up at the moment.

“You should, like, really, and I mean really, upgrade your phone. This is an iPhone five, Taeil. You can afford probably twelve iPhone X’s. The good ones too, with the big screen and-”

“Will you kindly shut up and get out and hand me my phone and never speak to me again after tonight.” Taeil leaned his forehead against the door now, expecting the worst.

“Oh, hush, he just answered. I’m getting you laid. You need it.” Yuta was sitting on the toilet with the lid closed, his knees pulled up to his chest and a drunken blush grazed over his cheeks. His big, honey colored eyes lit up when he saw that his recent text was read, and that Mister Taeyong was typing a response.

Although Yuta may have been giddy, this sent Taeil into full gay panic mode. Yelling various curse words at the door and telling Yuta he was going to beat him up, then reverting to the fact that Yuta is a terrible friend for taking advantage of him when Taeil himself was weak. They went back and forth through the door, Taeil trying to jiggle the handle every now and then.

“Taeil, your browser history is so boring. Not even a single dirty search, it’s all just Wikihow’s on how to restart your wifi and the correct way to fold fitted sheets. How do you live like this?” Yuta was aghast, his hand placed over his mouth.

With a loud band that shook the walls and startled both Sicheng and Bong-cha from their staring contest, Taeil had successfully rammed the door down with his foot as it swung open to reveal Yuta on the toilet in the L-from-Death-Note sitting position, his perfectly white smile now wider than ever. Taeil rushed to grab the phone, Yuta laughing as he stood with his arm extended in the air. He watched Taeil jump up with both hands to grab the phone. An attempt was made.

Taeil eventually stopped and looked Yuta dead in the eye as he punched him in balls, causing the not-so-natural blonde to go wide-eyed and drop the phone onto the ground. Yuta crouched over in pain, cradling his manhood as his eyes watered up. He mumbled something about his older friend cheating, but Taeil couldn’t care less at the moment and needed to see what damage was done. He quickly tapped to his messages, where he nearly fainted from straining his drunken mind to read and comprehend words, but also because of the horrible things he read:

 

Taeil:  
Hey cutie. You free Friday?

ANNOYING:  
ur talking to me now? AND calling me cute? this late at night? am i just a booty call to you? (sad eyes emoji)

Taeil:  
You know, I’m really sorry for being a dick to you. Why don’t we start over at my favorite restaurant for dinner? 

ANNOYING:  
woaw, strong man, so forward… are u sure you’re not drunk or on something? 

Taeil:  
Let me make it up to you.

ANNOYING:  
hmmmmm ok, if ur sure, but ur paying since u offered. weird ass.

 

“I OFFERED TO PAY AND HE STILL CALLED ME WEIRD? HE HAS NO MANNERS!” He shrieked. 

“You mean… Yuta did.” Sicheng blinked at them from the couch. Yuta was supporting himself on the sink as he stood, groaning all the way. Bong-cha rushed over to attack him with licks, to which a wounded Yuta just accepted as he laid back down on the tile in defeat.

Taeil clumsily swiped around his phone to call him and give him a piece of his mind, walking back to his spot on the couch. He thought about all the things he would say to him - that he had no right to be such a pest and that he didn’t want him in his life any longer. Taeil was going to put an end to it, and was determined to not let things drag on. Except he didn’t realise it was actually a FaceTime call versus a phone call until Taeyong’s face popped up on his screen, bulky headset on with the mic in front of his mouth. He had a birght blue hoodie on with the hood loosely draped over his crown, glasses and a freshly-showered face and damp, dark red hair. He flashed a(n adorable) smile at Taeil, asking a quick “what’s up?”. Taeil’s ears were burning red, and his face would have been too, if he wasn’t already so drunk. With an audible gasp, he quickly hung up and dropped the phone. He was almost one hundred percent positive that Taeyong just saw his double chin, and now he has to live with this for the rest of his life.

The only noise in the house now was that of Sicheng chewing popcorn.

-

The morning came around far too quickly. It was rainy today, and the gentle thunder roused them awake so nicely. Except for Taeil, who was already awake and currently making out with the toilet bowl. Yuta sat up from behind the couch on the floor, light hair sticking wildly in different directions and blinking hard to try to wake up. Sicheng was reading on his phone, laying sideways on the couch nestled in blankets, still munching on popcorn for breakfast. His bangs were held up in a fanned-palm-tree-like position with a hair elastic. They were quite literally a hot mess.

Yuta walked over to the bathroom and gently grabbed Taeil’s armpits to drag him out of the way, to which Taeil begged to just leave him to die.

“You know, if I didn’t have a throbbing headache at the moment, I would definitely kick your ass and kill you for assaulting my dick. But you’re going to just have to drink some water on the couch for now.” Yuta sarcastically replied, pulling Taeil’s dead weight over to Sicheng. Taeil just made confused moaning noises and let his head roll back from his shoulders. After dropping him off to the other supervisor, Yuta went back to the bathroom and shut the door that now couldn’t lock.

“I’m sorry for acting like this lately, Cheng. I just don’t get it.” Taeil mumbled lazily as he tried not to move around too much, as if the room wasn’t spinning enough.

Sicheng looked down at him from his phone and laughed. He had a pretty and light laugh, one that would not make your hangover worse, that’s for sure. 

“You just needed to get it out of your system. We all act like kids sometimes. Hey, you don’t ever have to feel like you need to hide or skip around about anything to us. We’re your friends, and we got your back.” Sicheng looked down at Taeil, watching his face.

He sat up from the ground and sighed, feeling like he really needed to brush his teeth and felt annoyed for letting himself drink so much. He rubbed his eyes hard and stretched. He eyed the rain from the window outside, watching the grey clouds roll slowly over the dark sky. The sound was relaxing, and enough to lull him into wanting to go back to sleep.

“I can give you a ride back, Tae. It’s too gross outside to let you walk all that way. I still can’t believe you did that.” Sicheng said to the crumpled mess on his living room floor. Taeil nodded in response, reaching up to squeeze Sicheng’s hand as a silent thanks.

Yuta came out of the bathroom, his wide shoulders hunched over. Sicheng informed him to get dressed (“and for the love of god, take a shower because you smell like Bong-cha’s breath”) and then they would leave. Taeil was a little sad that the time felt so short, and if he could remember anything of what happened last night he would have felt a little better at least. But, they weren’t in kids anymore and they actually had jobs to go to and responsibilities to take care of. It was a bittersweet moment, departing from his long time friends. You know you’ll see them again, but why does it sometimes feel like the time between is so lonely? Or, maybe only Taeil felt this way. Living alone makes you really bored.

-

The rain was coming down harder now as the windshield wipers were getting a workout. Puddles splashed underneath the car’s tires as it Yuta had one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gear shift. His earrings would swing when the car would lurch forwards and stopping. Sicheng sat in the passenger seat, ranting about annoying customers who would come in and be assholes to him and Taeil. Taeil sat in the backseat with Bong-cha, listening to Sicheng talk and chiming in occasionally. Yuta laughed heartily at their stories - he never worked in customer service and was living vicariously through them. Taeil was always the one to deal with difficult customers, because he always knew how to keep the situation no more than a dull roar. His professionalism was admired a lot by Sicheng. 

“By the way, should we call someone to fix the doorknob?” Yuta said over to Sicheng. The pineapple-haired boy in the passenger seat thought about it, saying it wasn’t really necessary if they could fix it themselves. Taeil scratched the back of his head awkwardly, feeling like he had something to do with that.

“Was that…” 

“Yes.” Yuta and Sicheng spoke at the same time, already knowing what he was going to ask. Taeil rubbed his temples.

“I am so sorry. I’ll buy a new one and fix it for you guys. God, I don’t even remember that. What happened?” Taeil’s words seemed to change the silly and awkward atmosphere to an ‘oh shit’ mood instead.

Sicheng and Yuta just glanced at each other and tried to keep poker faces. Taeil immediately noticed and didn’t let this slip.

“Could you NOT do that creepy Scorpio telepathic communication thing? It's weird and rude.” Taeil groaned. Yuta had to laugh at this, and Sicheng just smiled and cleared his throat.

“Well, you actually have a date Friday night.” He said quietly but loud enough to not repeat himself.

Taeil scrunched his eyebrows together and chuckled. “Don't be so annoying. Why are you being so cryptic about-” 

Suddenly, like he was sucked into another dimension, the puzzle pieces started connecting. Lines came together and brain synapses fired off. The memory of reading those ungodly text messages popped into his brain and made the color drain from his face. Lee. Fucking. Taeyong. A surprised cough/choking noise/gag escaped his mouth as he tried to remember to breathe.

Taeil scooted closer in between the front seats, leaning on the center console. “Please tell me you guys had nothing to do with this and it was just my own drunk idiocy.” Taeil’s eyes were hopeful and pleading, still glistening in the mucky weather. His hair was messy and flopped over his forehead, touching his thick eyebrows. The poor man had not had a break in the past few days, and he just wanted some stability. 

Yuta spoke first. “You can’t get mad at me because you already nearly bruised my penis because of it, so just because sober you doesn’t remember drunk you’s memories, doesn’t mean you get a free pass again.” 

Sicheng swooped in quickly behind him to cushion the blow. “It’s for your own good. Taeyong is hot and you are hot. Just figure it out. You can't cancel, either, because I may have made reservations to a restaurant for you both already."

The car was silent, save for Bong-cha's panting and the windshield wipers as they sat at a red light. Scared but needing to know if he was still alive, both of the front seat passengers slowly turned their heads synchronously to see their dearest friend whom they loved more than anyone.

Taeil’s face was straight as he stared into the distant, imaginary camera like he was in The Office.


	3. annoyed. tired. grumpy. too much. over it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for being patient with me as I write this chapter. life IS STILL CHAOS.
> 
> but im glad I was able to produce a chapter i'm happy with. it's 4:30 am as I publish this chapter and I just gotta say: thank you all so incredibly much for the overwhelming support. with everything. you all are so kind, I love reading and rereading the comments and it makes me feel so happy to be writing.
> 
> thank you. this chapter is for you guys!
> 
> \- teddy // @hyunglinelips on twitter (I change my username too much)

A couple days had passed and it was Thursday night. Taeyong sent yet another text to Taeil that he figured would probably be deleted instantly, sighing and walking up to his doorstep with his backpack in hand. He fished in the front pocket for his keys, pushing the door open and stepping inside. His shiny dress shoes echoed on the marble. He had just come back from a business meeting that his dad told him he absolutely needed to attend, for whatever reason. That was what his father considered bonding time - discussing stocks and how the company is doing, and who they need to fire next. He hadn’t seen his father in a few weeks, so his strict parent wasn’t exactly thrilled about his new haircut and color. He’d shave it all off himself if Taeyong didn’t change it, he said. This made him want to get an eyebrow piercing and neck tattoo next. 

“Hello, Mister Lee. How did the meeting go? Can I offer you refreshments?” Taeyong’s housekeeper stood in the doorway to the kitchen. She smiled and stood with her hands folded neatly, dark black hair strictly pulled back into a bun and her apron freshly ironed. She wore simple tennis shoes and comfortable-looking pants. Taeyong wished he could just wear that to meetings instead.

“He’s not here, Ta.” Taeyong informed her with a chuckle, shrugging off his suit jacket. He walked in the kitchen as well, heading straight for the fridge.

“Oh, good.” Ta exhaled and her posture immediately shrunk, her fake smile disappearing. She started to untie the apron. “I know you told me not to clean up as much, but I was worried your father would stop by so I cleaned… well, everything. Your laundry is almost done, also. I’ll leave it in the laundry room, though.” Ta reached into her back pocket to pull out a box of cigarettes and a lighter, her freshly manicured hands steady and swift. Taeyong turned around from the fridge, holding a six pack of iced coffee and swiping a bag of chips off the counter. He eyed her cigarettes and watched as she brought one to her small mouth, preparing to walk onto the back patio to smoke.

“Ah, sorry, did you want one? I should have asked first.” She held out the box to him, but he just shook his head and smiled.

“I can’t smoke anymore. Go ahead.” Taeyong blinked slow as she walked around him to the backyard. She slid the glass door open, but before she could step out, Taeyong spoke again.

“Hey, Ta, thank you again for doing this. I know my dad’s a bit of a dick, I truthfully couldn’t care less. Help yourself to the food, drinks, guest rooms and bathroom whenever you want if you’d like… you look like you need a break.” Taeyong said as he laughed. This was the most calm he’d been all day.

Ta’s almond eyes crinkled in the corners as she laughed. “Being here is always much more pleasurable than at your old man’s. Thank you, Mister Lee. I’ll take you up on that offer before I head home.”

Taeyong gave a slight bow and walked to the elevator (yes, he’s that boujee) and pressed the button to the top floor. The mirrored walls showed how worn out he looked - his fading cherry hair was a mess and his tie wasn’t even tied properly anymore. The dark circles under his eyes were more apparent than ever, especially in the dim yet harsh lighting of the elevator. Soft piano music played over the small speaker in the corner as he leaned against the gold-plated handrail, his shoes clacking a bit on the marble. Taeyong tilted his head a bit to listen to the piano more clearly. Yes, that’s what he thought he heard - Kiss the Rain, by Yiruma. This was one of his favorites, even if it was pretty popular. He loved how it sounded, especially in silence and when it was raining outside. He could listen to it for the rest of his life. A chime signaled that it was time to get out of the elevator, the doors slid open out to the top floor - also known as Taeyong’s room. 

He had replaced the marble for wood with simple rugs, and bought sturdy satin curtains for the two sides of the walls that were just glass windows. He couldn’t see his computer screen with all of that glare, it was so frustrating. On the left side of the floor, was a large lounge area where there were two steps down into the floor for a couch and large cushions, soft pillows and his extensive plushie collection that he had no shame about. Next to this was the dry bar, but the only alcohol was a bottle of some expensive champagne that was gifted to Taeyong by his dad’s business partner a month ago. The rest of it was stocked with - yes, iced coffee, but also milk teas and regular teas and fancy bottled water and the occasional soda. Even though Taeyong believed the exploitation and commercialization of water was ridiculous and unnecessary, he did have guests over and not everyone preferred tap water.To the right, was Taeyong’s California King bed and his elaborate setup for playing games and making music. The large monitors and keyboards were freshly dusted by Ta, his chair also had been cleaned of all spilled coffee and a new cushion sat in the seat. His audio mixer was set neatly next to his array of notebooks of song ideas and cheat codes. His bed had a fluffy, grey comforter and black pillows. His wardrobe was neatly organized by season and color. His shoes were stacked side-by-side in rows next to this. 

Instead of placing his dress shoes he was wearing next to the rest of them, he kicked them off and left them on the floor. Normally, he would take more care, but he wanted to be messy for now and forget about the outside world. He set the coffee and chips in his chair while he undressed, unbuttoning his dress shirt and trading his slacks for sweatpants and an oversized shirt. He yawned and scratched the back of his neck, moving the food items from the chair onto his desk and basically falling into the chair, letting his sore legs and feet rest for the first time all day. Popping the tab to a coffee can, he turned on his monitors and plugged his phone into the charger. He checked again for a text from Taeil - nothing.

He couldn’t help but be a bit bothered by this. He also found it odd and secretly hoped this wasn’t a setup for Taeil to beat the shit out of him for being rude to him the other day. Yong was also a bit stressed since their date was in less than twenty four hours and he still had no idea where it was, what kind of food it would be, and if he should arrange a car for himself. Taeil hadn’t even read or replied to his texts today. He decided to send one last message for the day, just in case Taeil had been busy or something.

TAEYONG - 9:34 AM:  
taeil~~ what should i wear? 

TAEYONG - 1:58 PM:  
by the way, i heard you have a puppy. pls bring him or her

TAEYONG - 8:02 PM:  
taeil? u won’t leave me hanging, right? :c

-

Taeil groaned loudly at his phone.

He wished he had new friends. He ran a hand through his dark hair and tried to think of a response. Maybe just say he had to work or something. Or he could be completely honest: “Hey, sorry for that, my friends decided to be assholes and text you when I was drunk. None of those words were mine, and I’d much rather go to bed at six o’clock on Friday night. By the way, you’re annoying.” But decided maybe that was too harsh. He was never the type to make plans and back out on them, but to be fair, he himself did not make these plans. He finally opened the text messages, and decided to go with the good old “I’m sick” excuse.

TAEIL - 8:06 PM:  
Hey Taeyong, I’m really honestly sorry but I have to cancel. I’ve got a cold really bad. I hope you understand.

Taeil let out a breath of relief, and was about to sit back and relax on his couch when his phone dinged with another text notification from Taeyong. He lifted his eyebrows at how fast that was.

ANNOYING - 8:06 PM:  
ahh im sorry to hear. u need to take care of ur health more hyung even i know to do this. i can bring some home cooked food by if youd like?

TAEIL - 8:08 PM:  
Oh, you don’t have to do all of that. I’ll survive.

ANNOYING - 8:07 PM:  
great! see u at 7

Taeil blinked. Was this kid serious right now? He sighed and sat forward, rubbing his face. He tossed his phone onto the coffee table and walked to get water. Bong-cha trotted behind him, hoping for a treat if she looked cute enough. He turned and looked down at her glittering eyes as he was drinking. He tail was wagging and she perked her ears up. He set his cup down, keeping eye contact with her.

“Cha, you’re so lucky you weren’t born a human.” Taeil spoke low to her so that only she could hear, even though they were alone in the apartment. She tilted her head to the side, not really understanding what was going on. Taeil clicked his teeth as he reached in the drawer next to him and pulled out a treat, tossing it to her for her to catch. 

The night carried on later and later, Taeil falling asleep while on a movie binge. He usually would turn off everything before heading to bed, but for some reason he was even more tired than he anticipated. There wasn’t a care in the world for him as he drifted off as his eyes were struggling to stay open. He laid on his couch, a blanket wrapped around him and pulled up to his chin. His TV droned on silently as the characters in his film chatted. Before he knew it, he was dreaming, Bong-cha curled up on the floor by his side with her favorite stuffed animal.

 

He didn’t even remember falling asleep. He sat up quickly and saw that it was already one PM, his heart hammering in his chest and his sleepy eyes struggling to adjust to the daylight. He mentally kicked himself for sleeping in so late and not setting an alarm. He cursed under his breath as he flung the blanket off himself, grabbing his phone to check it as he briskly walked to the bathroom. It was dead. He huffed a bit and rolled his eyes, plugging it in and then brushing his teeth. Taeil looked in the mirror and rubbed the crust from his eye corners and splashed water on his face to wake himself up. He looked up in the mirror, water dripping from his cheeks and nose, and all he could think in that moment was that he looked /rough/. Bong-cha yipped at him to let him know she needed to go outside before she shat all over his bedroom floor again. Realising he hadn’t let her outside in at least twelve hours, he ran to grab a trash bag and a hoodie.

“Bong-cha, come! Slow down!” Taeil was practically doing a track race with his dog, struggling to keep up. He didn’t even get to stretch properly before he opened his front door and she darted out, expertly maneuvering down the stairs and the sidewalk out into the parking lot. Taeil was breathing heavily and his brown eyes were wide with worry. She never acted like this. It had been a while since he did any real cardio, and he was falling behind. He called out to her over and over again as he ran through the parking lot trying to find her, but his body was giving up and he eventually slowed to a halt, wheezing from the exertion mixed with cool air. He lost his slippers in the chase, so his socks were now wet from the ground. It rained last night, he assumed. That’s nice. His fists rested on his knees as he bent over, his messy brown hair sticking out especially in the back of his head where he slept. Taeil imagined he looked crazy, hunched over in borderline asthma attack position with a trash bag in his hand. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again to see a pair of fresh, white shoes in front of him, and paws. 

He looked up all red-faced to see Bong-cha with a bone in her mouth, wagging her tail. He craned his neck more to see the person with her and nearly fell on his ass when he saw the pink-haired little shit.

“What the hell are you…? How… did you know I live here?” Taeil’s breathing was still a bit laboured as he immediately started fixing his hair and straightening out his posture. 

Taeyong laughed, “Should you be doing marathons when you’re sick? Anyway, you have your location turned on, and I wanted to surprise you to stop by with food because I felt bad for maybe bothering you earlier. Plus it’s really boring at my house. Anyway, I brought soup, a bunch of different tea since I don’t really know what you like, chicken, I think some rice, and some fruit. I guess your puppy really likes chicken, she almost jumped in my car when she-”

Taeil turned around, ignoring Taeyong and started walking back to the apartment, Bong-cha panting and wagging her tail as she skipped along beside him. Taeyong blinked and took this as a gesture to walk and talk.

“...when she, uh, smelled the food. Hey, are you okay?” Taeyong was holding a big paper bag of food with both hands, his puffy black jacket rubbing against it as he tried to keep up with Taeil. He was short, but he took even longer strides than Taeyong. Taeil wanted to offer to help, but he pretended to not take notice.

Taeil was silent for a moment too long as they were walking back up the stairs to his apartment, and Taeyong bit his lip in a genuine worry. 

“You’re not upset with me are you? I understand if I overstepped a boundary, I really should have asked before I-”

Taeil stopped on the staircase and turned to face him. Taeil was definitely blushing, he could feel it. He hoped that the boy wouldn’t see it as blushing and still think of it as redness from his morning jog. Taeyong looked at him with those stupidly large and cute eyes again, and his legs were a bit weak. But that was only because he had ran before stretching, definitely. Not because of that annoying child. Never that.

“You can come in, but only for an hour and a half. I haven’t even showered yet so this is mildly embarrassing. Also, I would have usually waited until the fourth or fifth date to bring someone home, so this is…” Taeil trailed off as he walked back up the stairs while shaking his head, pace more steady instead of rushed. He didn’t even get a chance to shut his door all the way, so it was cracked open a bit. For this, he was glad, because he didn’t get a chance to grab his keys and his door would have automatically locked behind him. He swung the door open and let the puppy in first. He was about to step in when he remembered Taeyong and the ridiculously large bag he hauled himself up the stairs, and turned with his arms out to take it from him.

“You’re older and therefore more important than me, remember?” Taeyong smirked, shifting his body away from Taeil like a little kid protecting his favorite toy, tilting his head up as he stuck his tongue out and walked past him into the apartment. Taeil sighed and resisted the urge to roll his eyes, walking in and shutting the door while tugging his dirty socks off. Taeyong struggled to remove his shoes, but managed and used his feet to push them closer and neater by the door. As if it was his home too, he walked over and set the paper bag on the coffee table in the living room. He unzipped his jacket and shrugged it off, looking for a coat rack to hang it on. Taeil awkwardly walked over and took the coat from him, hanging it on the rack by the door, careful to avoid eye contact.

Taeyong sat on the navy blue couch, looking up at the still-standing Taeil. Taeil didn’t know what to do. He felt incredibly stiff, even though it was his own home. He wanted to punch the kid for just existing, but figured it was best to not do that considering he could sue him for everything he owns if he wanted.

“You do live here, right?” Taeyong laughed, reaching over into the bag and pulling out spoons and chopsticks. This caught Taeil off guard, and he looked over to meet eyes again with the younger.

Taeil cleared his throat, “Um, yeah. I do. W-why?” 

Smooth. Really smooth. 

“Why are you acting like you’re at your girlfriend’s parents’ house, huh? Sit.” Taeyong patted the space on the couch next to him, ushering Taeil to sit. His body screamed DANGER. WARNING. DO NOT SIT THERE. But his legs moved anyway, collapsing on an obviously far space on the cushion away from the boy with the expensive outfit and mountain of food.

“You sure you’ve just got a cold? You act like you’ve got a delirious fever or something.” Taeyong laughed, flashing his award-winning smile as he continued taking food containers out of the rustling bag. Taeil could only watch as his eyes followed Taeyong’s hands around the table. Taeyong was a bit apprehensive, not sure where he stood right now in Taeil’s impressive mind. Scooping various foods onto a small plate, Taeyong reached his slender arm out to Taeil to hand it to him. He grinned warmly, trying to send telepathic messages to him that he was sorry and this is awkward please say something. Taeil was tugged out of his thinking trance, and he quickly reached for the plate and said thank you, still not making direct eye contact. Taeyong was going to make his own plate, but he firmly put the chopsticks down and crossed his arms, facing Taeil aggressively. 

“Can we please talk like normal humans?” Taeyong nearly whined as he said this, but there was a sternness and sureness that wasn’t there before when he was nervously rambling to Taeil up the stairs. Taeil swallowed hard and readied to prepare an answer, but Taeyong had more to say.

“Look, I know I’ve been a little too much and I can be obnoxious, but...” He quickly grabbed the chopsticks and shoved a large bite of rice in his mouth as he spoke, not being able to wait, “Well, I really don’t want to leave that impression on you. I’m seriously sorry for acting like that. I know sometimes I’m childish. I just want to get to know you, that’s all.” 

Taeil scoffed. “You know, there’s probably a million better ways to meet people and form meaningful relationships than being a brat.” Taeil looked him in the face now, eager to get his point across and escape whatever twilight zone he was in. Taeyong cringed at this, realising he was being petty.

“I’ll make it up to you. This is just the beginning. I really don’t want to, like, invade your space and make you uncomfortable. I just lack in the social department.” Taeyong almost shamefully took another bite, strong jawline flexing as he chewed.

“Seriously? How does a kid like you not have friends?” Taeil thought he was just making excuses now, but the look on his face proved he was being genuine.

“I mainly just have online friends that I play video games with and such. Plus, I hide a bit of my identity on there because I don’t want them to know who my dad is and start treating me differently. I can’t really do that here.” Taeyong wiped stray rice off his mouth with the back of his hand. Taeil was eating soup now, starting to feel a tinge of guilt for being cold-hearted to Taeyong when he was just as lost and new to the world as he was. They were both deer in headlights in a way, and being put on the spot with life. But he tried to shake his empathy with reason - just because he is socially awkward, doesn’t excuse him from being rude. This conflict would go on in his head for the hour and a half that he told Taeyong he could stay, and then the hours that followed. Empty food boxes and cups sat on the coffee table, the stupid paper bag on the floor. The TV was on but they weren’t paying attention to it - they were too busy telling stories from their childhood and about their friends and all of the stupid things they’ve done. They laughed and chatted into the night, but they didn’t notice. At least, Taeil didn’t. He was stuck in the glittering whirlpool that was Taeyong. He was just finishing up telling Taeil about how his dad reacted to his hair coloring choices when he got a phone call. It awkwardly interrupted the eclipsing gravity that was pulling them closer. Taeyong looked at Taeil apologetically as he answered the phone, met with Taeil gesturing him to go ahead and take it, as he stepped out in the front door.

This caused Taeil to fiddle with his phone in silence, the first silence in hours. It was almost ten o’clock. He worried he might’ve kept Taeyong from important duties, and that he himself should have called his mom and taken Bong-cha for a walk and cleaned and… the list of responsibility grew and grew. He noticed he had a missed call from Yuta, and figured he should call him back soon. He grew anxious now, coming back to reality and feeling like he wasted time. This made a tinge of paranoia creep in as he racked his brain going through everything he should have done that day. He stood abruptly off of the couch as Taeyong walked back in.

“Sorry, it was one of my online friends. He was-”

“Leave now.” Taeil’s brain seemed to work itself too hard while freaking out over all of the things he needed to do, and so the polite part of his brain had to be shut down to compensate. As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt stupid.

“What?” Taeyong laughed as he said this, obviously caught off guard. Taeil just stood there blinking in response.

“Um. I have things to do.” Taeil tried hard to not sound robotic but it didn’t deliver that way.

“You really don’t get out often enough.” Taeyong smiled as he said this, slipping on his bright white sneakers. Bong-cha heard the commotion and walked over to him with her head down, eyes looking up, begging him to not leave. It was almost effective.

“Yeah I do. I have friends.” Taeil cleared his throat. “Do you, like, want me to walk you to your car or something?” 

Wordlessly, Taeyong looped an arm through Taeil’s and pulled him towards the door. Taeil didn’t have time to process the difference between being endearing and being kidnapped until Taeyong let go of his arm as he was climbing into the driver’s side of his flashy black Maybach, windows tinted to a certain degree. Taeil was suddenly aware of how gross his Kia was.

“This is the part in the movies where the couple kisses. I would tell you to text me but you probably wouldn’t, so I’ll just text you first.” Taeyong started his car as he said this, hand on the steering wheel as he readied to back out of the dinky parking lot.

Taeil felt annoyance bubble in his stomach. “You’re lucky enough your stupid car didn’t get keyed and robbed, don’t push it.” 

Taeyong kissed the air at him and rolled up his window. Taeil wanted to punch the glass, but instead rolled his eyes (a common habit when he’s with him) and walked back to his apartment. Shutting the door, he didn’t even realise that Taeyong had cleaned up behind himself and put the paper bag full of now-empty food containers in his trash can. Bong-cha yipped at her owner, alerting him that she can and will pee on the floor if he didn’t let her outside within the next minute.

-

Work was deadly slow the next day. Only a handful of usuals came in, but no delivery orders were placed. Even their manager had left to go home early. Sicheng and Taeil ended up eating the food that was supposed to be served at the end of the night for their own dinner. They didn’t have much to clean as they closed, but they certainly had lots to catch up on.

“He even drives one of those cars that famous actors have. What the hell?” Taeil finished his rant to Sicheng about his encounter the day prior; he had been listening quietly the entire time. He took this moment of silence to look at Taeil from across one of the booths in the restaurant they occupied, saying nothing while he sat back.

“God, can you please stop doing that?” Taeil felt uncomfortable under the boy’s gaze.

“I only do this so you can think about all of that shit you just said. You obviously like him enough to be his friend at the very least, why don’t you just get past a bad first impression? That's all it was. You know more about him now, give him the benefit of the doubt. I did the same for Yuta.” Sicheng took a sip from his lemonade through a straw, picking his chopsticks back up to continue eating.

“I don’t know, I guess you’re right. It’ll just take me some time, I think...” Taeil scooped up rice but didn’t bring the spoon to his mouth. He zoned out for a second, his eyes staring blankly at the edge of Sicheng’s plate. These were the moments he was thankful for - the fact they could sit together without saying much and still enjoy the time. It had been a boring and sleepy day, so they were both tired and ready to go home. They ate quietly for a few minutes until Sicheng broke the silence.

“Why don’t you hang out with Yuta and I tomorrow, and invite this kid?” The puppy-eyed boy suggested casually, but this made Taeil drop his chopsticks and rub his temples in frustration. So much for that.

“I don't wanna see him again after not even 48 hours! Plus, Yuta would hate him so much. I do not wanna deal with that... you know he said about my ex girlfriend when he first met her?” 

“I mean, he wasn’t wrong…” Sicheng scratched the back of his head as he avoided eye contact with the man across from him.

“You don’t find any problem with him calling her cheap when he first met her?” Taeil leaned forward as he pressed into the subject.

“Hyung, she literally used you for your car and money until she met someone richer and didn’t spend all his time with his dog. A gold-digger.” He crossed his arms and sat back again, a single eyebrow quirked upwards, knowing he wasn’t in the wrong in speaking the truth. Taeil groaned and let his head fall to rest on the table, his right cheek seeming more chubby as it squished on the hard surface. He mumbled and grumbled something about how that wasn't the point. Sicheng reached a hand out from his former position to poke the top of his head where his hair parted.

“You need to stop getting so worked up over the littlest things. I’m saying this because I genuinely worry for your wellbeing. Having a crush isn't the end of the world.” He scooped up their now empty plates and took to cleaning in the kitchen, letting Taeil marinate in his own feelings. It didn’t take long for Taeil to start to feel mentally exhausted from thinking about his feelings over and over again for almost two weeks now, leading him to become physically exhausted. His head felt heavy on that white table now, as he allowed his eyelids to close gently. He began to think again. There were many times Taeil couldn’t stop thinking about Taeyong. He could admit this much. He knew he enjoyed spending time with him. It was awkward yet natural, and this strange salty and sweet flavor made it worse. Taeil knew he would have to make a decision soon. It wouldn’t be fair to keep hating and then loving and then hating Taeyong. He wanted nothing to do with him, yet he wanted to know more. He wondered what Taeyong was doing right now, and if he really was so confident and forward all of the time. What was he like when he was by himself, in his room with only his mind with him? What does Taeyong do when he’s angry, or sad? Does he prefer grape or strawberry jam? How long does he like to sleep for? Has he ever been in love?

Messages played around in his brain, the sight behind his eyelids coming to a serene blend of colors as he drifted off to sleep. He didn’t think about the fact he was at work, and he didn’t consider how much he drooled. No worries plagued his brain now. There was a feeling under his ribs, a pressure, and it was only when Taeil was put into a car with a small blanket put over him did he realise Sicheng had carried him to the back seat of Yuta’s car. Taeil stirred awake as he felt a seatbelt click by his hip, and a blurry mop of blonde hair in front of his face. Yuta smiled at him, patting his shoulder and shutting the back door gently. Sicheng sat in the passenger seat, light from his phone illuminating the dark car. Taeil let himself go back to sleep again, head lolling back on the seat’s headrest. He felt safe with them around. There was no reason for anxiety. He was in good hands, and he was going to be okay. The car lurched forward and soon the dull hum of the motor, motion of the car on the highway, and light and quiet chatter from his friends in front of him all combined as a lullaby to his ears. He was only at peace when he was asleep.


End file.
